"The city's had this problem a long time and it should have been corrected a long time ago."

While that biting assessment could be made about any number of deficiencies at Dallas City Hall, this time the quote applies to an initiative that, if managed correctly, could be invaluable to helping low-income families buy homes.

The city's just-hired housing director David Noguera, who made the statement, now has the job of cleaning up a mess that has left nearly 60 families — each on the verge of home ownership — in limbo.

In response, the city froze pending applications for the program and stopped taking new ones. Noguera's team is now attempting to satisfy HUD that it has put the right remedies in place so that the assistance can resume.

This trouble, found in housing records from 2011 to 2015, is just the latest for Dallas when it comes to federal dollars.

Last year HUD's curiosity was justifiably piqued by a city audit that questioned oversight of $30 million in taxpayer financing for affordable housing projects. That report focused on the scant paper trail the Housing Department kept on single-family and apartment projects funded between 2012 and 2014.

HUD followed up with its own questions and, after months of foot-dragging, Dallas finally sent the requested documentation. In fact, it sent boxes and boxes of paperwork, which the federal government is continuing to review.

The latest blunders in the mortgage assistance program are separate from those exposed in last year's city audit.

But it's worth noting that documentation — or more precisely, lack of it — is at the core of both stories. And that several housing officials, including director Bernadette Mitchell, have recently left their jobs as City Manager T.C. Broadnax cleans house.

During a meeting with this newspaper's editorial board on Friday, Broadnax responded to a question about the upcoming city budget by saying six months on the job isn't sufficient to "smoke out the BS" from all departments. But he made extraordinarily clear that's his goal.

Housing on the hot seat

March 2016: City of Dallas audit covering 2012-2014 raised questions about documentation for $30 million in affordable housing projects.

May 2016: Dallas Housing Department officials blamed the situation on a lack of formal policies and procedures and promised to do better.

September 2016: After months of back-and-forth between HUD and the city, HUD registered a big concern about the Housing Department's failure to turn over documents.

January 2017: The city handed over materials related to the $30 million, which HUD continues to review.

February 2017: Broadnax starts as Dallas city manager.

April 2017: In a routine review of a separate program involving federal funds, HUD found "significant deficiencies" from 2011-2015, leading Dallas to freeze the program.

Since then: City Hall housing leaders have been replaced. New director David Naguera and his boss, Raquel Favela, chief of economic development and neighborhood services, bring formidable experience dealing with federal housing dollars.